Pick better bus drivers

Is Broward County so desperate for bus drivers that they will hire anyone who applies, even if that person has a horrible driving record? This story goes to show the world that public safety is not the number one concern of Broward County transit.

If local leaders had a greater concern, it wouldn't have cost taxpayers $100,000 to clean up their very huge mistake. Broward County should do a better job of screening those hired to drive buses. Someone shouldn't have to get hurt, or almost killed, to make a point. One complaint from a passenger is one too many.

The dumbing down of America is in full swing, as evidenced by the license plates on the back of cars. The instructions say to affix the yellow registration sticker to the upper-right corner of the plate.

I don't think anybody reads anymore. I've seen stickers in the upper left, lower left, even in the middle. Now people see them that way and think that's the way to do it, which perpetuates the stupidity.

Pat Benedetto, Fort Lauderdale

Women in the military

Our politicians, with their endless wisdom, have decided to allow women to serve in the infantry and Special Forces combat units. Former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, and members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, approved this decision.

The biggest problem with this outrageous decision is that women soldiers will not simply face other women in the opposing army. They will combat men. Maybe Mr. Panetta does not know the difference between a man and a woman, but God created them for different purposes and with different abilities.

To put women in hand-to-hand combat is political correctness run wild.

Do our leaders forget that sometimes, a soldier may become a prisoner of war? Can you, in your wildest nightmares, imagine the fate of your wives, daughters or granddaughters as a POW?

Need I remind our leaders that hand-to-hand combat involves not only guns, but fists, bayonets, knives, personal shovels and everything else that comes in handy?

Why we are doing it? Do not we have enough men to fill out the needs of our infantry and Special Operations Forces?

Our president said that if he had a son, he would not let him play football because of the potential trauma. But sending women into hand-to-hand combat with men, with the potential to become a prisoner of war, is fine with our top brass.

Mr. Panetta, women have roles to play in the military, but do not push it any further. They must not fight the men in hand-to-hand combat, period.

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the Feb. 24 endorsement for Plantation candidates. I was unable to meet with the Editorial Board due to a conflict with a previously planned campaign event that required my attendance.

I have developed a love for the city and the great things it has to offer. Our location in Broward County is central to everything in South Florida. This will never change.

The leaders of the city need to plan for future residents and businesses. This planning includes safety and security, financial stability, infrastructure, housing, entertainment and business opportunities.

Over the last five years, the city has utilized reserve funds, increased fees and higher taxes to balance the budget. The reserve funds have been depleted and in 2014, the city is estimating another shortfall of approximately $4.8 million.

My opponent, Councilman Robert Levy, has been on the council for eight years, therefore has had plenty of time to propose and support sound, fiscal decisions that better position the city for the future.

It's now re-election time, and I personally find it hard to believe that my opponent's choices will change all of a sudden.

I have the passion, experience and drive to fight for needed changes that will result in positive outcomes for the residents and businesses of our city. It is time for action not just more political rhetoric.

My lifetime residence in District 3, 22 years of public service, 13 years serving on three city advisory boards, attending over 250 city commission meetings, and my knowledge of economics and city infrastructure, all mean I will be the most knowledgeable commissioner to lead Boynton Beach into a prosperous and sustainable future.

I was surprised not to receive the Sun Sentinel endorsement. The paper has always supported my efforts in the past. There were multiple articles about my four-year involvement to lead 1,500 volunteers in building the Kids Kingdom Playground; multiple articles about my efforts to preserve green space; and a front-page article about how I designed and was building the most energy-efficient and hurricane resistant home in District 3.

Perhaps I did not receive the endorsement because it was a case of "What have you done for me lately?" After building my home, I wanted to learn how to build even more energy efficient buildings. In 2014, I will receive my fourth college degree, a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering.

It was impossible to continue my high level of civic involvement while working full time as a fire lieutenant/paramedic, being over 50 and averaging five courses per year in a curriculum that started with four courses of calculus.

"Keep the course in Pompano" is your recommendation to political incumbents in your Feb. 26 endorsements.

Would you have given that same advice to the captain of the Titanic?

"The Sun Sentinel believes the City Commission has made progress in changing the direction of the city." Maybe you think more crack houses, prostitutes, drug deals and bloody syringes on community streets is progress. I think not.

Pompano Beach's residential areas are sinking in crime, crack houses, foreclosures and the general loss of safety, yet the incumbents spend the city's $219 million budget primarily on the beach, Atlantic Avenue and a golf course that I cannot find one resident who has ever been there.

The council and mayor are good people, but they have lost sight of what a city does. The first priority of any city should be to provide a safe place for its residents. Pompano Beach will pay over $37 million this year to the Broward Sheriff's Department, an increase of $1.6 million over 2012, but taxpayers still cannot walk down many streets without fear.

How can anyone tell someone who is about to lose their home, in part because they cannot pay their ever increasing taxes, that they should subsidize a dog park or golf course that brings pleasure to a few at a cost to struggling homeowners?

The Sun Sentinel is wrong. Keeping the course is economic and social suicide. Pompano Beach's course must change. The local taxpayers must be safe and come first, not the tourist.

Thomas Terwilliger, Pompano Beach

Candidate Replies

Editor's note:Candidates not endorsed by the Sun Sentinel are given an opportunity to respond.Just in case you missed any of our endorsements so far, go to SunSentinel.com/2013endorsements to catch up.